Everything you always wanted to know about Egyptian folklore and data

What is the link between data and the famous Egyptian puppet operetta El-Leila El-Kebira (The Big Night)?

As part of the Data-Driven Innovation week of activities, the Information Technology Institute (ITI) is organising an innovative exhibition. It has one main goal: enable you to learn more about Big Data… through the words and eyes of El-Leila El-Kebira’s main characters. The famous puppet operetta was written by renowned poet Salah Jahin, with music composed by Saeed Mekkawy, and dates back to the 1960s. It has become an integral part of Egyptian folklore and introduces us to the magical Egyptian mawlid (the birth of the Prophet).

In a very Egyptian sweet way, the ITI exhibition is playing with words: El-Leila El-Kebira (the big night) becomes El-Data El-Kebira (the big data). The belly dancer, the food stall vendor, the clown and the lion each tells a story about Big Data, throughout a data journey in a unique folkloric setting. Have a look at some of the photos from the exhibition (below) and follow the Twitter hashtag #الداتا_الكبيرة. Hurry up to see the live exhibition: it is at the ITI Headquarters in Smart Village in Cairo, open until 20 Feb 2016.